Broken
by Uchihaflower14
Summary: "Promise, me Embry." Crystal said. Promise me. Promise me. Just another knife he had to plunge into his heart. Just the typical unrequited love story. A story where happy endings elude them; they are the broken and there is nothing they can do.


Broken

His red eyes looked back at me. Red. He was bloodthirsty. For Bella. Not me. But still, killing Bella would ruin the tangled love story I lived in. I loved Jacob. He loved Bella. She loved Edward. And he, he loved her. But whom did Jake get? Sheesh, who did I get? Of course, being the tomboy I was, I was not the type to go around confessing my love to people. Normally I was content to watch him from a distance. But for once, I wished I could touch his heart. Just once.

"Get your head in the game, Sweetie," the vampire said in a sickeningly saccharine voice. He prowled around me looking for an opening. The dark trees held an ominous contrast to his pallid skin glinting slightly in the feeble sunlight. "Focus, Crystal," I thought, "You can't afford to lose your cool right now. You're alone in the forest. He has sharp teeth. His venom is lethal."

I was always small for a wolf at my age. Most Quileute girls weren't even wolves to begin with. But Leah and I, we were special. At least that was what I told myself. Leah was resentful of the other girls for our state. She didn't want this future for herself and had never wanted it. Her romantic past with Sam, the leader of our pack, also made sharing their minds very painful for her. I don't know why, but I was born with a certain gift in the pack. Everyone else has to share each others thoughts when in our wolf form, but I found that if I concentrated hard enough that I could not only hide my thoughts, but block out their thoughts. I could even send thoughts to only one wolf. Lately it had become like a second nature to me. No one knows of my gift, except Embry Call, my best friend whom I often converse with.

Suddenly, the vampire lunged at me. I shrieked and sprang out of the way. My teeth barred and a growl ripped from my throat. I had to stop getting distracted. We slipped back into the "dance" of fighters. We circled each other. I would sink my teeth into his arm and he would retaliate with his fist. The crunch of bones crushing and skin ripping were the only sounds in the eerie thicket. I stood, shaking uncontrollably. My left leg was heavily bruised and my snout was spurting blood. I had no idea how long I was going to last. I had to end this soon. I gazed again into his scarlet eyes. Bad idea. He was leering at me. He knew that I wasn't strong enough to beat him. Here I was, bleeding so much I could barely stand and all I had given him was a gash on his chest, which of course, did not bleed. As if he could hear my thoughts, he said, " You're not strong enough to beat me. Just come quietly. Your pathetic life isn't worth having so much pain." He stroked his chin thoughtfully and turned away. " In fact, if you want I can make it end right now. You won't feel anything."

I pounced on him and tore off his arm. I leaped away clutching my prize in my blood-spattered mouth. The vampire's piercing yell rang through the tiny clearing. "You'll pay for that, Missy, " he screeched. And he came at me full force. All of the sudden, he disappeared. Through the blackness, I saw a picture. It grew until it was all I could see. I pivoted to the right and tried to run away from it, but I could see it from every angle. It filled my vision; it was my very eyes. It was Jacob. Jacob with his arms curled around Bella. It was Bella. Bella with her hands knotted in his hair. It was their lips. Their lips were pressed tenderly together. It was Jacob's thoughts. I had broken concentration. He must have already phased. I tried to suppress it, but couldn't. It was a blanket, caressing me but at the same time clinging to me with suffocating weight.

The next thing I was aware of was pain. At first it was dull, but as my eyes began to focus it became a hot searing burn in my neck. I tried to stand but failed. My body convulsed wildly on the cold rocks. It had bitten me. I was going to die. Die without ever telling him how I felt. Die without ever thanking my family for everything. The vampire's frenzied eyes were filled with thirst and hate. He only hesitated for a moment before bending to sink his teeth once more into my bloody neck. He wanted to cause me as much pain as possible before he finished me. He was merely playing with me. I lay there pitifully waiting with bated breath for him to finish me.

My savior came in the form of another vampire. He was tall blonde and had a perpetual aloofness about him. He went by the name of Jasper. He was extensively scarred but also an unbeatable fighter. His knowledge of the newborns was fascinating. I watched with worshipful eyes as he finished the vampire in one effective blow. He then commenced to build a fire to burn the pieces. As he worked, I felt a wave of calm wash over me. "Ah," I thought, "this is the gifted one. The one who can placate people's nerves." The scent of burning vampire reached my sensitive nose. It was overly sweet and burned my nostrils. At once, it pulled me out of my calm and I realized that I shouldn't be peaceful. I was dying! Using the little strength I had left, I bolted from the clearing ignoring his shouts for me to return. Twenty miles away, I lay down again on the ground. I knew that there was no way I would live through this, but with the remaining time, I had to talk to Embry. I reached out to him with my mind. "Embry?" I thought tentatively.

"Yeah?' came his immediate reply.

"Embry, will you promise me something? Promise me, Embry."

"Sure, Chris," he thought hesitantly.

" Embry," I whispered as I fought against the intense pain dragging me down. Down into death. "I was so stupid. It's all my fault. I just wasn't strong enough... Please... Tell him for me, Embry. When I'm gone, you must tell him everything. I can't stand dying when he never knew." I waited for his answer. The seconds ticked by. For a while I thought he was leaving me, but then his thoughts returned.

"Dying, Crystal?" he whispered frantically. "No you can't die, Chris. Hang in there. I'm coming."

"No," I shouted weakly. My strength was leaving me just as the stream of blood pouring from my back, my neck, and my snout. "You can't come. I'm okay. You have to help. You must protect _her_. "

"But, Chris." he spluttered, "why? Is this about _him_, Chris? Because he doesn't matter. I'm here. I love you, Crystal. Take me."

"Embry," I began, pain breaking my voice. "I'm broken in more ways than you can imagine. I'm sorry. You can't fix me. We both know that. This pain is nothing compared to what could be staying here. All I really want is to leave this world behind and if I could... see both your faces one last time. If you... If you really love me, you'll let me go."

He paused again, my words running through his head. I hated myself for doing this to him. Embry who had always been by my side and never asked anything in return. Then his voice sounded again in my brain. It was older, sadder, and more mature. And somehow, that made me want to cry even more. He said quietly, "What do you want me to tell them?"

"Hmm?"

"Sam is asking what's wrong. And Seth. They can't hear your thoughts." When he mentioned it, Sam's firm voice pushed his way into my brain followed by the rest of the pack, all except the one I wanted to hear most.

"Crystal, what's wrong?" Sam asked.

"You okay, Sis?" came Seth's worried childlike voice. My adopted brother, Seth and I were very close. His family had found me on their doorstep when I was three. They were always kind to me and treated me just like another daughter. Seth and I would go on adventures together, finding pebbles and seashells and sea glass. The death of our father had only strengthened the bond between us until we were inseparable. In fact, the only closer friend that I had was Embry. Seth's panicked tone brought out my maternal instinct and made me want to reach out my arms to embrace him. But looking around at the forest trees, I reminded myself that he was far away, protecting the girl I had always wanted to be. I couldn't even bring myself to think her name. But my brain, unwilling to cooperate, thought of it anyway. Bella Swan. Maybe someday Bella Black...or worse... Bella Cullen. I knew how much he loved her, how strongly he felt about protecting her. That's why, even now, I wouldn't take Seth or Embry or _him_ away from her to save myself. I cared about him too much.

"I'm fine, Seth. Don't worry, okay? Everything's fine."

"He's not a kid, Crystal. Don't lie to him." came Embry's infuriated response.

"What's going on?" Jake's impatient voice joined the pandemonium inside my head. It was just too much. I tried to tune it out unsuccessfully. I felt myself slipping away into the darkness. I smiled. How appropriate that his voice should be the last one I heard. Entering the waiting arms of death was much more peaceful than I had ever imagined. I was finally at peace with my self. I breathed my last breath, and then it was over.

In the distance a single agonized Call ripped through the trees. _Crystal_


End file.
